Eight Hour Revolution
by Generic Hero
Summary: Over coffee and computer simulations, the brothers Kaiba discuss their past, their present and their futures.


**A\N:** The original incarnation of this particular piece of work is completely unrecognizable as the same piece. I've been plugging away at a brotherly fluff piece on and off for an age, and, in a span of percieved creativity between 2 and 4:30 this morning I wrote this. Then I slept. Then I edited this and boy did it need it. I am not as creative as I think I am in the wee hours of the morning. Regardless, it's done now and while it lacks the distinctive flow of a story that plans on going anywhere or getting there in a hurry, I feel it does accomplish what it was trying to, which is the sense of lethargic dialogue I've come to expect from conversing with my own younger brother into the early morning. But enough talk, have at it!

_For Tawnykit, without whom, my work would be shoddier still._

**Eight Hour Revolution**

**9:12 PM**

Mokuba made his way through the largely empty halls of the Kaiba Manor. He took it in like it was the first time again, not with barely-masked terror like he had then, but still seeing everything like he never had before. He meant to be strolling without purpose, just exploring the halls, but in the end his feet knew better than he did where he was going.

The soft hum of the server farm grew louder as he approached his brother's computer room. Mokuba thrust his hand into his pockets, but walked faster in spite of himself. Wheeling the corner, he saw Seto right where he expected, sitting at his computer chair running simulations.

"How's it look, Seto?"

His brother didn't turn. "The simulations are solid. It's the best deck I've ever put together."

"You gonna win?"

Though he couldn't see his face, Mokuba could sense Seto's smirk. "There's more to duel monsters than simulations."

Mokuba sat himself down near the back of the room and put his feet up on the table. "Well, yeah, but you don't make mistakes. You'll win."

A grunt.

"Is Yugi going to be there?"

"Yeah."

Mokuba chuckled, quietly playing with his pendant.

**9:55 PM**

"Can't sleep or something?"

"Huh?"

Seto turned and to look at Mokuba. "You've been hanging out here for half an hour. Simulations aren't _that_ interesting."

A shrug. "I felt like hanging out. Besides, it's like ten. Why would I be asleep?"

A look at the clock dashed Seto's scepticism. "Huh. Guess so."

"Seto… how long have you been up?"

"Ugh… I don't know. I probably slept last night."

Mokuba chuckled softly and tapped his feet against the table. "You gotta get some rest tonight if you're gonna be primed for the tournament tomorrow."

"I will, don't worry about it."

"Seto," Mokuba warned.

"You gonna babysit me, kid?"

"Til you go to bed."

"Get comfortable."

**10:38 PM**

"Remember the orphanage?"

"I try not to."

Mokuba sighed. "You know what I mean."

"I remember it. What of it?"

"I dunno… I was just thinking about it. Y'think things would've been different if you'd never beaten Gozaburo?"

Seto's agitation was palpable. "We've had this discussion, Mokuba."

The younger Kaiba drummed his fingers on his leg. "Guess it was fate, though, right? Cuz you were destined to face Yugi and… So yeah."

"We're done with fate, kid. Remember? We wrapped all that up at the Grand Prix. This is new ground now."

"Yeah, I know," Mokuba said brightly. "That's what makes it cool. We get to make our own destiny."

"I've always made my own destiny. I don't care about that magic stuff. I look out for my own interests."

"Yeah, but… I mean, Yugi and the others, we had fun with them. It was hard and all, but we had fun, right?"

"If you consider being repeatedly kidnapped, threatened and blackmailed as fun, then yeah. It was a damn carnival."

Mokuba chuckled. "You had fun. C'mon, you totally had fun. It was like the only time you seemed to really be enjoying yourself was in a good duel. You need a goal to throw yourself at; it's like you've been really bored lately."

There was a soft click as Seto turned the coffee machine on, not caring to answer the implied question. Mokuba reclined back and stared at the ceiling, like he was thinking about something.

"Why don't you spill what's on your mind, kid?"

"I'll do it if you do."

Seto narrowed his eyes at Mokuba and sipped his coffee.

**11:16 PM**

"So how many simulations do you plan on running?"

Seto typed a few more lines and started the next simulation. "There are thousands of duel monsters cards and one opening can crush a strategy. So…" he paused, sipping his latest cup of coffee, "lots."

"Well, I'm bored."

"So go to bed."

"You first."

Another grunt.

"We could play cards."

"You'll lose."

Mokuba took a second to consider that. "Yeah…"

Seto shot Mokuba an odd look and stood to refill his glass.

"You're gonna get ulcers drinking that much coffee."

"I'll consider that my surgeon general's warning."

"Just saying…"

"What is it that you want, Mokuba?"

"Money, fame, women and waffles. You?"

He settled back into his chair, turning it to look at his brother. "Yeah… I could have a waffle."

Mokuba grinned. "Lightening up."

A soft squeak came from Seto's chair as he leaned back. "This is me giddy off of no sleep."

"Seto… do you remember Noa?"

"What is this, a flashback episode?"

"I just wanted to ask something."

Seto sighed. "Go for it."

"Why'd you use me like that? To get control of the company."

"You were a stable element. It was regrettable but necessary."

"Like hell. There's a story there."

Another sigh. "If I tell you, will you go to bed?"

"Sure thing."

There was silence, and Seto seemed agitated. "You really want to know?"

"Yeah."

Seto braced himself. "He'd been lording it over me that I'd never beat him as attached to you as I was. He said I was weak and that he'd beat me out of it eventually. Said eventually I'd sell you out when it was worth my while. I wanted to wipe that smug look off his face."

"But you didn't prove you'd gain by your attachment to me. You profited from my attachment to you."

Silence, then, "Yeah… well, he's not smirking anymore, is he?"

**12:01 AM**

"Happy tomorrow."

Seto glanced at the clock. "Yeah."

Mokuba spun slowly in the swivel chair.

"Why are you still up?"

"You really want to know?"

Seto nodded, not glancing back at his brother.

"I'll tell if you do. You don't need to be doing these simulations, so why not get some shut-eye?"

"What, are you pretending to be Pegasus? Trying to read my mind?"

"Like I'd need magic to read your mind."

"Right."

Mokuba swivelled. "I knew you weren't dead, y'know."

"What?"

Mokuba leaned forward. "Duelist Kingdom. When they pitted that ghost thing against Yugi. I knew it wasn't you."

"Of course it wasn't. Like Pegasus' thugs could touch me."

"No, I mean like… I just knew. You and me… we've been through too much together for me to not know."

"Well, I'm glad you're so confident."

"Plus I wanted to see what you'd be like when you got back. That whole thing with Yugi changed you. But it was good, I think. It was like you were finally able to unload all the stuff Gozaburo put on you. Or even before that, the crud you picked up at the orphanage. I mean, you were still you, but all that darkness that… that protecting me built up, that was gone."

"Darkness…"

Mokuba sighed. "You did some… some serious stuff, Seto. I mean, I always believed in you but…"

"Yeah, well…" Seto tensed slightly, keeping his back to Mokuba. "I'm not that person anymore."

**1:15 AM**

"You asleep, kid?"

"No."

"Why so quiet?"

Mokuba smirked. "See? You're used to it now, you need the noise."

"No, I was just deciding whether it's best to smother you with a pillow or drown you in the coffee."

"You ran out of coffee an hour ago."

"I can make more."

A silence took the room for a few moments. "Guess I'm just thinking."

"Finally ready to tell me what about?"

"Not until you do. C'mon, Seto, you're the one who taught me not to budge in a negotiation."

"You keep assuming I've got something to say."

Mokuba cast a more serious eye toward his brother. "Seto, you've always got something to say. I just have to drag it out of you. It's something special tonight, though."

The silence retook the room, briefly, until Seto beat it back. "You know we wouldn't be here without that darkness you were talking about. That stuff with Gozaburo, it may have been ugly, but it was an ugly response for an ugly world."

"I know, Seto, I wasn't blaming you. But we don't need it anymore, so I'm happy it's gone."

"Yeah…"

"So what's with the mood?"

"Ugh… what day is today, Mokuba?"

"The eleve-, no, the twelfth."

"Of August. Fourteen years ago I took the helm of Kaiba Corporation. Eighteen years ago Gozaburo killed himself."

"Well, not quite killed himself. I mean, he digitized his mind, right?"

Seto waved a hand dismissively. "Whatever."

Mokuba watched his brother curiously. "Is that bothering you?"

"No. It's… like a day of remembrance for me. A day of warning."

"Warning what?"

"How close I came, back then, to becoming him."

"But… you're not him."

"And what do I have to thank for that?"

Suddenly, it all made sense. "Look, Seto, I know what you're thinking, but Yugi isn't the reason you changed. He may have given you the opportunity, but it was you who pushed forward. You're my big brother. You did it yourself."

Seto kept his back turned. "Yeah, maybe…"

**2:22 AM**

"So, I spilled, it's your turn."

Mokuba sipped his glass from the new pot of coffee. "Alright… I was thinking and… I found myself a place in the city. I… think it's time I moved out."

Seto spun in his chair, looking at Mokuba incredulously. "Mokuba…"

"I know, I know, don't say it. You said it last time I wanted to move out. I'm a Kaiba, it's the Kaiba Mansion, I know. But Seto… My whole life I've been relying on you. At first it was because I didn't have a choice, but as time went by… It's like the only reason I'm still here is because I don't think I could handle life where you weren't there to catch me. Well, and because you couldn't handle life where you weren't there to catch me."

"So you're going to-"

"Move out on my own. Try standing up. It'll be fine, I've still got, like, millions of dollars and a University of Tokyo education. It's not like I'm feeding myself to the hounds.

"Don't give me that look, you knew this day was coming. You grew up when our parents died, like, twenty years ago. I'm a bit of a late bloomer, but I've got to grow up eventually."

Seto stared.

"C'mon, quit the look, you're making me feel bad."

"Look, Mokuba… it's not like counting on me is bad, I'm your brother."

"Yeah, you are. And you're my dad and you're my whole family. You're all I've got. It's not like you're not gonna see me anymore. I just need a chance to be my own person."

Time crawled to a halt and Seto stared at Mokuba a while longer. Finally, he leaned back. "This is about having a place to bring girls home, isn't it?"

Mokuba laughed. "Yeah, well, one of us has to continue the Kaiba family. Not like you're getting laid any time soon."

**3:55 AM**

Seto cleared his throat, looking very serious. "He had this remote in his hand attached to some kind of weight over the brunette's head."

"Anzu."

"Yeah. But I know I'm better than him, I flick a Blue-Eyes at him-"

"No way."

"A Blue-Eyes, that's how much I know he's beat, and it slices his hand open. He drops the remote and I let him have it."

"And got your Blue-Eyes back."

"They're expensive."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"And why don't I remember this?"

"I don't know. Were you there? If you were, you were probably ogling Jonouchi's sister."

"Shizuka. _Great_ ass."

Seto suppressed a chuckle. "That makes me feel better about you living on your own. Can I expect the sound of little mutts?"

Mokuba laughed. "Roland did say we should look at new guard dogs."

The elder Kaiba shook his head. "Yeah, well… what now?"

"Well, I'm rich. I'm a Kaiba, so I'm famous. Got my own pad for the women. Seems like I'm only short some waffles. What do you think?"

Seto looked back at the clock. "I think it's 4 am, we could probably find a waffle place."

They stood and made their way to the door. As Seto's firm hand messed his brother's already tangled mess of hair, they made their way into the Domino morning.


End file.
